I don't always feel like cooking...

But I absolutely had to use up some seitan sitting 'round my fridge. I found a recipe on VegWeb for sweet-and-sour seitan. And I did use up some tofu yesterday in a rerun favorite recipe.

Now, why am I posting so late? Well, as I tried to explain to my yowling cat (she gets very vocal if she thinks I've spent too much time away from home), with my new job, the commute is longer. I had to pick up a couple of things (well, more than a couple) at the Whole Foods. Then, I stopped by my boyfriend's place to pick up his mail, as he is still out of town. The elevators at his place are as slow as molasses (but not as bad as they used to be). I had to wait for a bus, which was very crowded and made numerous stops. So it was around 8:00 when I got home.

The food isn't very pretty, but it was tasty. I love sweet-and-sour dishes. I think I should have just used one onion instead of two, but I do love onions. The peppers I used really shrank in the cooking process. The canned pineapple chunks were nice and juicy. It's not often I buy canned fruit, but since the recipe called for it, that's what I did. I also cooked up some brown rice to go with it. Yummy.

But I can't leave you without pictures, so here are some of the view from the boat of Boston Harbor and the fluke of the whale. The other pictures I got, you really can't tell what it is. :(


It was a beautiful, warm day. The only time I needed my jacket was when we were approaching the area where the whales feed.




I hope I can go back to Boston again to take part in another whale watch. This was just amazing.

Naughty, naughty kitty

Sorry, I haven't cooked for the past few days--just haven't felt like it. Maybe tomorrow while I watch the results of the D.C. primaries--whee.

I always keep a box of Back to Nature Classic Rounds
which I swear are vegan Ritz crackers. My boyfriend likes them for a snack, as do I (it's especially fun to tear Primal Strips and eat with the crackers (it used to be a typical breakfast before I decided to be a good girl and eat soy yogurt and granola). However, someone else really likes them too:





That's her stealing a cracker from the box and starting to eat from my boyfriend's lap. Maybe he doesn't feel he should scold my cat for sticking her face in his food--she is my cat and he's the visitor, as I remind him when he kvetches about her other misdeeds. Maybe he's only half annoyed and thinks it's kind of funny that she's such a feisty gal, I don't know. It is kind of funny to see just what she thinks of next. Even I can't bring myself to scold her too harshly (except when she scratches the sofa, and then I'll just remind her to use her scratchbox).

Does anyone else have furbabies who love to steal the humans' vegan food?

Now, I'm cooking!

After an incredibly busy weekend, including a benefit at Java Green last night for Compassion Over Killing, sponsored by Satya Magazine, I am finally cooking again. I made Peanutty Tofu Chunks on Tagliatelle with Mushroom Topping. I didn't have the tagliatelle, so I used leftover rice noodles instead. The tofu chunks were deliciously nutty. I might increase the peanut butter mixture next time, it was that good. The mushrooms need something more, but next time, I think I'll stir fry veggies in a peanutty sauce to serve with the luscious baked tofu.

Anyway, the benefit: A whole bunch of people showed up, many of whom I knew and many who were at the conference. There was also a raffle with many prizes. My boyfriend bought a bunch of tickets, and we won a number of interesting books:

"How to Steal an Election" by David W. Moore
"Fighting Words" by Robin Morgan
"Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly" by Joseph Minton Amann and Tom Breuer
"Bush Versus the Environment" by Robert S. Devine
"How Much is Enough The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth" by Alan Durning
"One Makes the Difference" by Julia "Butterfly" Hill

He gave them to me, but if they're as good as they sound, I do hope he'll read them. My friend Steve can tease me all he wants, but I am a genuine vegan foodie. I am not alone in wishing there was a vegan version of Doritos. There is a vegan version of Cheetoes, however, called Tings. The company also makes Veggie Booty, which I think I prefer the texture of. I can also pretend it's good for me because it does have spinach, kale, cabbage, carrots, and broccoli. Then there's Super Veggie Tings that have both Tings and the Veggie Booty mixed. Yowza!
I'm truly a bad girl junk food junkie, I know. But let's face it, what we eat and especially what we don't is at the heart of what makes us vegan, so it stands to reason we are obsessed with food and obsessed with finding cruelty-free options for the stuff we ate before we were vegan. And more options are coming out every week it seems, so there's no reason not to go vegan!

What a weekend!

Well, I had a great time at the conference. It was held in town, which was nice. We attended several sessions, although I always wonder if what I do is enough. One thing I'm determined to do is work with Compassion Over Killing to get foie gras banned in D.C. Chicago's done it. Philly's doing it. The state of California has done it (although it's taking eight years to phase out production?! Not until 2012?!). I'm sure the schmucko lobbyists will scream to Congress if this passes (a big if), but maybe we can get Humane USA, the Humane Society's Political Action Committee, to keep Congress from stomping on the District -- again.


We met the PETA chicken, their anti-KFC spokesbird:


I met Rory Friedman, coauthor of "Skinny Bitch," a pro-vegan book disguised as a diet book:


and I talked with tons of people (with whom I didn't get pics).

Sunday was the banquet, and it was not nearly as good as last year. We had a grainy thick lentil soup for our first course; thick hunks of poorly marinated, flavorless tempeh with a smattering of veggies for the main course; and a mediocre carrot cake for dessert. I am not the only person who was disappointed. When the servers were taking plates, there was a lot of tempeh left over. The entertainment however, was wonderful. Nellie McKay gave an excellent solo performance. In reponse to learning of how many Republicans had pro-animal votes (including one who won a Senate race versus a pro-cockfighting Democrat), she joked that she didn't know there were so many Republicans for animal rights and said it was as unexpected as angry lesbians for Buchanan. I'm surprised that Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has such a good record because he's objectionable in every other way. She has one of the sweetest demeanors on stage I've ever seen.

Patrick McDonnell, who draws the comic strip "Mutts" went through a series of his favorite comic strips. My boyfriend brought a whole bunch of stuff to get signed, which he did earlier in the day. And it turns out that every single book is a gift from me. I now have to make sure I know which books he has when I get him more Mutts stuff.

On Monday, the talks were divided into four tracks, but we sort of bounced a bit, concentrating mostly on Animal Issues. In a panel on companion animals, one woman talked about hoarders, people who keep incredibly large amounts of animals, and invariably providing poor care. I pointed out during the comment period that many of the people who do this are mentally ill, and the woman who discussed it said it was true, but they were concerned more for the animals. Now, it's not like I don't care about the animals in such a situation, but I'd like to think there's room in our hearts for the people who engage in this behavior--let's try to get them help--and the poor animals caught in these situations. And yes, let's make sure the people are never allowed to assume guardianship of animals again.

I was frequently kicking myself for not having bothered to bring a notebook. Next year, I intend to.

During a break (there's no way I can sit through more than two or three hour-long sessions in a row, so I skipped some), I chatted a bit with Nellie McKay at the Satya table and got a picture, which will not post. Snarl! We chatted about veganism and feminism, issues dear to our heart. I've been involved in feminism probably since I was a teenager, but it took me until my 30s to become a vegan. But hey, better late than never.

We also met Jake, the spokesdog, so to speak, of www.stoppuppymills.org. Jake is a former "stud" dog for a puppy mill and was entered in an Ugliest Dog Contest to bring people's attention to the horrors behind that cute little puppy (or kitty) in the window of a pet store. Jake is missing one eye, as you can see, and is blind in the other.

I tried to pat him, but when I touched him, he literally hissed, the only time I've ever heard a dog do so. But apparently, only his mom can touch him. It's why I had to sit behind him to get a picture. It wasn't as noisy in the exhibit hall as it was the previous two days, but it was probably enough to make the poor guy nervous.
I suspect I'm preaching to the choir when I remind people NOT to buy animals at pet stores, but to go to a shelter if they want a companion animal.

We finished the conference on a fairly positive note, with Alka Chandna of PETA talking about Compassionate Cooking. There wasn't a lot I didn't know, but after all the heavy stuff, this was a good way to finish out the conference. I hope to see some of you all at the conference next year!

I will absolutely attend the conference next year, and I hope to see some of you there.